Aberrant: The Long March - Chapter 6: Making History

[SkyLion]

*There is another way. I could absorb all of the enrgy holding her to the maid. It is also possible that Andrew could come up with a stasis field, and Michael and I could force her out. I have heard of some Novas who are able to sustain themselves on their own quantum energies so perhaps we could try that.*

*However given it's intellect and time, how long before it learns to subvert or drain the stasis field. And how long do we want to sustain it's life at expense to our own resources? Given that no where in our files is there any indication that QBS induced mental aberrations are treatable, death may in fact be the humane option.*

[Courier]

Steve mentions,

"Considering the lack of stories of body possession, the Maid is already dying and may very well expire when she leaves. And keep in mind we don't have days, we have at most a day. After that Lorean's psi-shield will fall. Then she goes public about us, and/or starts jumping other people."

"Back in the hotel I had Joani hide from sight so avoid having her target her, but telepathy is a targeting sense and 'short range' may include the entire width of Lorean."

[Mr Fox]

Lorean nods at Steve's words then adds, "I could ask Morgan to join us. If the maid expires because of the sphinx dying there's no one in this time better able to bring her back and heal her."

[Courier]

Steve answers,

"Please contact Morgan and Max and let them know what's going on. The way I see it, we need to form a jury."

"Please don't teleport people around just yet. You're running low on power and this isn't over yet. We still have at least one bad guy running around. Morgan can come up on his own. Max can talk over the link."

[Mr Fox]

Lorean responds, "Morgan is on his way. Max is live over the link." A few seconds later a hole opens in the air and Morgan steps through.

"Good afternoon Gentlemen and Ladies. Lorean has been keeping me abreast of the situation in case I was needed, and I've filled Max in. Steve, if you will why don't you give us a run down on what you have in mind?"

[Courier]

Steve says,

"What concerns me is how our current situation is going to effect this group. One way or another we're going to cross some lines today. One of the the most common mistakes of the mega-smart is to forget the process is important. There's only one realistic choice here, but just because I see it doesn't mean I can or should take away other people's chances to have input."

"Our situation is this. We have a nova on our hands who is criminally insane, telepathic, has committed extremely serious crimes, is in the process of committing more, can't live without killing people, and whom we can not contain for any length of time. In theory her powers could make her a real asset to the team, but it's my professional opinion with a very high level of confidence she is totally untrustworthy, will try to take over as soon as she can, and there is no chance at all to rehabilitate her."

"We have two issues in front of us. The first is what to do about the Maid. If someone has a workable solution other than termination please present it. The second issue is what to do about her host. My suggestion is that we take reasonable steps to try to save her, but if those don't work or are too dangerous to try... she'll die too. Perhaps even by our hand. I'm open to alternatives, but inside of a day we lose containment."

[Ulric Reikspar]

Earlier with Omar,

"I had in mind first a united Police Force within our respective mega-states. From there, we start creating co-operative agreements concerning Mediterranean and Black Sea smuggling and cross-border crime. We move to a dedication of full-time personnel to cross nation crime-fighting task force with broad authority in both states."

"We move from there to inviting China and the United States into the club and as we gradutate India, Africa, and South East Asia into a post colonial status, they will inherit the system. Lastly, we bring in South America on a state by state basis - probably as part of an economic stimulus package."

"That's a world police force. We can also direct public service oriented Specials into the service, to help us deal with Special Crimes - and to remove such difficulties and responsibilities from our hands."

"I am already sure I can bring the British, French, Dutch, and Portugese administrations around pretty quickly. Much of your power base still has colonial ties and Foreign trained police outfits. Also, developing an international police force early, we can keep it free of regional politics and move the funding over to the League of Nations to keep super-state interference to a minimum. How does that sound?"

As the conversation develops concerning the Maid and what has been gained, as well as what is at stake.

"This woman is a contagion. If we allow her to continue existing, she will come back to bite us. We know what her world vision is like and strongly believe she is unnaturally compelled to seek out her own maniacal ends."

"Should she be pitied? Yes.

"Should we allow our pity to stay our hand when there is no good alternative that presents itself despite all the brain power committed here."

"We force her out of the maid, to save the innocent - and yes, that means we let her die. In one day she may move herself beyond our power and be a threat once more. It is a terrible choice, but no one has a better alternative."

"We act out of a desire to protect the world, not out of vengeance. Justice is not always pretty, or palatable, but it has never been more necessary than right now."

[SkyLion]

*Containment doesn't have to end in a day. Even with the shields down I could keep her drained of juice. Assuming she can survive on empty she won't be able to access her telepathy or posession. Ah shit! If we do that, she'll just burn the poor housekeeper's life force for more juice. Never mind.*

Cody looks a bit mollified at the apparent hopelessness of the situation.

[Omar]

"If only we had more time, we could assemble a jury to try her. Unfortunately we don't. Therefore, we are judge, jury and executioner. So, I propose a courts tribunal."

Omar began ticking off the points in his hand. He remembered seeing several of these trials performed in Iraq, by the US military, on soldiers accused of serious crimes. They were quick and seemed fair enough.

- We have a three judge panel, made of crewmembers, to hear arguments from both sides.

- The defendant may represent herself, and speak on her behalf. If she wants representation, which I doubt, then we need to find someone willing to defend her.

- Prosecution may introduce any materials or witnesses on their behalf. Defendant may do the same.

-Three judges will deliberate and come up with a decision. Sentencing will occure immediately after the verdict."

Omar started to look nervous the further he got along the list. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation.

"I still don't know if we have enough time, though. Do we have a lawyer on board?"

Omar gets back to Ulric.

"I don't know that the nations in South Asia will be so accomodating. There is still a lot of resentment from European Colonialism, but I am working on changing that. In another generation maybe, but it is too soon for south Asia. As for the other regions, I would bet that ex-colonies have similar feelings. The modern nations of Europe, America, and Oceana would probably be willing."

"Another problem is that an international police force has been tried. More exactly, and international security agency. It would take too long to explain, but you can ask Lorien for files on the Directive, Project Utopia, The UN, and this fascist paramilitary police force we accidentally caused in another timeline. These will give you an idea of pitfalls and successes with international police forces."

"Afterwards, though, I would like to look into how to start one, at least for those areas that are ready to do so."

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew shakes his head, "Most of you have already expressed your opinion that she is better dead than allowed to live. That's a kangaroo court and there's no point, we may as well just lynch her in her cell." Andrew shakes his head, "We cannot rush into this. I understand that with power reserves as they are we must consider a solution quickly, but there are other options.

"In the short term why do we not send her to a diserted tropical isle, someplace in the South Pacific? She'll be isolated just as well there as she is here and we'll be out from under the gun, able to put some thought into this and determine her ultimate punishment." Andrew looks to the others, his expression of concern clear, their situation is dangerous and they need to be careful how they set policy for the future.

[Joani]

Originally Posted By: Ziggurat

"Afterwards, though, I would like to look into how to start one, at least for those areas that are ready to do so."

"That sounds promising. The President already spared a few of his ideas with me and I think we should pool our ideas and resources in this matter." then she looked more serious.

"First things first, though. I second your proposal and if no one wants to defend her, I would step in. I believe she deserves a fair trail on the other hand maybe I'm too much involved as being her prime victim? I honestly don't know whether to hate or pity her..."

[Mr Fox]

Michael nods at Andrew's words then frowns, "The problem with that is two fold. If she is a telepath and as strong as I'm lead to understand, she would be free to cause a great deal of havoc just by being unsheilded. She could create a dozen more sleeper agents around the world in just a day or so that we would have no way whatsoever of unmasking." Seeing that he has everyones attention, "Second, from what Steve says, the host she is using right now will die within days. Even if we wait only one day or two the host could suffer permanent damage that perhaps even Morgan may not be able to reverse." Seeing understanding on the faces around him he continues, "I do completely endorse the idea of a trial however, no matter how quickly it must be arranged and implemented. Perhaps we could bring in one of the worlds top judges and a group of random people both specials and non-specials to be her jury? It would necessitate bringing them in on our secret, but would that not be better than depriving her of her 'due process'?"

[Courier]

(Steve walked onto the bridge to join the others after he was finished with the Maid).

Steve says,

"I like the idea of a tribunal." Steve nods to Andrew and says, "Having none of us be on it should take As long as none of us are on it, that should take away a lot of the kangaroo court aspect of this."

He continues, "As for an island somewhere, she's a strong enough telepath to keep Cody out, and he's strong enough to contact people from orbit. We know Howard has a wide reach and he's still out there. We know she knows the minds of multiple sleepers and can trigger them."

Steve pauses then continues, "But... we could delay things a bit by keeping her unconscious."

(To Joani) Steve shrugs and says,

"Whether it's therapy or sympathy, if it makes you feel better you're entitled. By all means, speak up for her, someone needs to. But sympathy doesn't include being in the same room with her. We'll have her project a hologram into the court."

Quote:

Seeing understanding on the faces around him [Michael] continues, "I do completely endorse the idea of a trial however, no matter how quickly it must be arranged and implemented. Perhaps we could bring in one of the worlds top judges and a group of random people both specials and non-specials to be her jury? It would necessitate bringing them in on our secret, but would that not be better than depriving her of her 'due process'?"

Steve responds,

"We'd have to bring them up to speed on specials, body snatching, the specific effects and limitations of our powers including telepathy and lie detection. Right after that I expect questions on what we're currently doing with those abilities. We'd also have to talk about time limits, specifically the energy drain required to keep her confined. That quickly brings up the issues of future technology, future history, time travel, and Lorean."

"Further, they'd have to take in all this and get up to speed in one day."

"The good news is we already have a group of people like that, already up to speed and more or less randomly selected. We brought them with us. Using the crew isn't a perfect solution, but it seems workable."

[Ulric Reikspar]

"Andrew, I think you misunderstand the process here. We are incapable of acting like either Judge, Prosecutor, and/or Defender. We have all been actively involved in this process so none of us have the prerequisite detachment to this case. What we are doing is acting like a Jury. We are reviewing the evidence, talking to the experts, as well as the victims. We are then voting on a verdict."

"We are rushed, but this is not a rush to judgement. Her Host will die if we don't act. If we don't provide her another victim, the Mastermind will also die anyway."

"There is an innocent life being held hostage here in the balance. We must act within the day to save one life, or we will lose two by our inaction. Is there another aspect of this case I'm missing, for I don't see it?"

"Steve, I can understand your abhorance of killing someone who is helpless in your authority. It is a horrible thing to face. The Natural Forces - the Quantum Forces - at work here do not allow us many of our preferred actions."

"My prefered action would be to put her in stasis until such time as we find a cure for this taint madness. The Mastermind is as much a victim here as her host, for she is bidden to act by forces beyond her control. She is mad. Unfortunately, she is also dangerous and lethal and we are the ones in the dismal position as to deciding her fate, or the fate of the world we have been working for."

Ulric doesn't look happy about making this argument to Andrew, but he is very resolute. He waits for Andrew to say something that will sway his mind, at the same times he fears no argument can be forthcoming.

After Steve's comments, Ulric shakes his head ever so slightly. He feels that the Team is shirking its duty in this instants. Is not the team, the experts, best capable of dealing with this matter? How much time does the Maid have left anyway?

He stops himself. This is not the time, so Ulric waits for the mad dance to continue.

[Mr Fox]

Lorean listens before speaking, "I can certainly configure a stasis chamber, but given that the nova in question is pure quantum energy, I'm not sure how well or how long it would hold her. As Steve mentioned earlier, Novas have a strong tendency to adapt to their circumstances."

[Ulric Reikspar]

Ulric turns to Lorean.

"Please configure it immediately. The poor woman currently being inhabited will die within the day unless we do something. As soon as the Team makes the call to protect her, you should be ready. One question: Will this draw off less energy than the current Shielding?"

[Andrew Murphy]

"No I understand you completely Ulrich. You intend to stack her jury with people who have already made their minds up about about this ... being. What good is a jury which has it's mind made up before the defendant even enters a plea?

"Further I do understand the danger to the host but we do not have any way to save this woman. It is admirable that we try, but we do not know if we can save her at all. You propose killing the host and then trying to resussitate her, and if this fails we have gained nothing.

"Look what she did to Joani. Even if we could figure out a way to force her out of the maid there is no telling that she may not salt the earth and poison the wells on her way out, so to speak."

Andrew is clearly worried about what all this means for future cases, "What is her possible maximum range? A few hundred miles? Perhaps as many as one thousand? Her ability to possess a body is surely far more limited, placing her on a remote island, somewhere isolated and uninhabited in the Polynesians will keep her from jumping bodies, and remove her ability to contact any of her angents. That is unless you think she has sleepers in every human settlement on the globe? If you think that will not work let us sedate her or put her in stasis, if only for a few days, while she is under Lorean can recuperate her energy and we can organize a fair trial.

"I am not lobbying that we do not try her but we use Æon, surely Michael and Max can get us three novas, and they ought to be novas, a trial by her peers, to sit and hear the evidence." Andrew stops for a moment and gathers his final thoughts.

"We must tread carefully, we must ensure that nova criminals get a fair treatment. Anything else and we may as well not bother with any illusion of a fair trial."

[Courier]

Steve winces at the talk of a stasis chamber and says,

"Given what we found in the future, I think we're at least two centuries away from anything like a taint cure. None of the cultures we've visited even had a clue on it."

"If you want a nightmare possibility, think of her getting out 2 or 10 years from now, stronger than ever, and us not realizing she's free. At the moment we can kill her by killing her host body. In the future that might not be true, and this would not be a good thing."

[Mr Fox]

Michael looks at Andrew and shakes his head sadly, "I share your feelings my friend, but I fear you are incorrect on one point. A telepath of her strength could reach out and touch any unshielded mind on the planet even from here. At best you could sedate her and keep her aboard Lorean, but that is a very temporary solution as you would be trading one life for another."

Maxwell Mercer interjects over the com, "Andrew, I can indeed get you several people on extremely short notice. If you would like I could even Judge or Arbitrate, I think most would consider me as impartial as it is possible to be. I know the facts of the situation, but have only just now become involved."

[Ulric Reikspar]

"Point: She burns out baseline bodies in a matter of a few days, if not a day, such as this one. Is that correct?"

"Planning is a multi-day event, in which she gets to participate - for a fair and vigorous defense, of course. How are we going to supply her victims to inhabit while this goes on?"

"What decision is your tribunal going to come up with? Release? Can we live with the Catastrophic Revealation?"

"Imprisonment? Were? And what do we do for the eventuality of when she either escapes, or served her time, knowing what we know about her body-jumping habits and mental make up?"

Ulric shakes his head.

"So much of what we have is trust in each other's word and expertise, which means very little in the scope of a true trial. So much of what we have is hearsay and can be explained away. After all, we are the ones who cold-cocked her and kidnapped her to our ship, then imprisoned her and interrogated her with no Police Powers of our own."

"By all means, if a trial comes up, let me be the defense attorney, for I know how LEGALLY weak our case is. I know how best to break our accusations apart. Best of all, I know the Law and how often it deviates from Justice for the Common Good. I know what is Right and I know what that Law says and I know why this is a Secret Cabal."

"Do please understand, there is no legal precendent for most of the crimes committed here. A good Defender will exploit that."

Ulric looks terribly sad, like a man doomed to watch a train tumble off a bridge.

"Either you try her in a court were you stack all the laws and tribunal against her, or you run the very real risk that she will go free. For the sake of our future society, I will offer to defend her, and I will win. I leave the fallout from that decision squarely on you."

Turning to Max Mercer,

"I wish I could look forward to working with you under better circumstances."

[Omar]

Originally Posted By: Michael

Perhaps we could bring in one of the worlds top judges and a group of random people both specials and non-specials to be her jury?

"That was not quite the format I had planned on. We bring in three legal minds, from three separate legal systems. We can use a similar format as that of the Nuremburgh Trials from our timeline. We could probably charge her with crimes against humanity. A prosecutor could be from one of the world's judicial systems as well."

"Having a full Jury trial, like they do in the United States, would not be sufficient for nations outside the US. Unless, of course, the defendant is a US citizen. A tribunal system is, however, closer to an international system. I will have to confess that such a system existed in our timeline, but not here. They never had a Nuremburgh trial to set a precidence."

"We do have precedence for this type of thing, my friend Ulric. It may not have happened yet, but it has and we have the record. Also, there are many laws punishing rape, which is what she has done. In many nations, rape is a capital offense."

Omar felt rather proud of himself. He did come from the birthplace of written laws afterall. Maybe it was in his blood.

[Andrew Murphy]

Originally Posted By: Maxwell Mercer

"Andrew, I can indeed get you several people on extremely short notice. If you would like I could even Judge or Arbitrate, I think most would consider me as impartial as it is possible to be. I know the facts of the situation, but have only just now become involved."

"Yes, I believe that would work fine."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Point: She burns out baseline bodies in a matter of a few days, if not a day, such as this one. Is that correct?"

"we are not arguing that point, it is known and, will probably be her downfall."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Planning is a multi-day event, in which she gets to participate - for a fair and vigorous defense, of course. How are we going to supply her victims to inhabit while this goes on?"

"No, we are going to be swift in bringing together a fair trial, else we put her into stasis in order to bring about that fair trial."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"What decision is your tribunal going to come up with? Release? Can we live with the Catastrophic Revealation?"

"That was the risk we took when we began to twist the fate of humankind to our will."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Imprisonment? Were? And what do we do for the eventuality of when she either escapes, or served her time, knowing what we know about her body-jumping habits and mental make up?"

I agree that true imprisonment is not going to function, her punishment will be death, one way or another. The only other possibility is acquittal and freedom."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"By all means, if a trial comes up, let me be the defense attorney, for I know how LEGALLY weak our case is. I know how best to break our accusations apart. Best of all, I know the Law and how often it deviates from Justice for the Common Good. I know what is Right and I know what that Law says and I know why this is a Secret Cabal."

"Do please understand, there is no legal precendent for most of the crimes committed here. A good Defender will exploit that."

"And that is a flaw of our own making, we are operating outside of the system as much as she, and yet the only recourse we have is to present the evidence to other novas and allow them to decide. Morality exists outside of laws, and laws only exist to enforce morality. The fact that there exist no laws to govern the morality of novas is a fact only of our own making."

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Either you try her in a court were you stack all the laws and tribunal against her, or you run the very real risk that she will go free. For the sake of our future society, I will offer to defend her, and I will win. I leave the fallout from that decision squarely on you."

Andrew too looks sad, "If we are to create a society capable of sustainable self governance we must at some point step back and let the people rule themselves. And if we must cheat, if we must stack the trial against the guilty, I say that the society and the system do not work and all our work, every deed we have done for the past ten years, has be wasted and worthless."

[Ulric Reikspar]

"Since it requires us to expose anyone in the proceedings to our secret, a tribunal should suffice. Do we want to bring in an outside proscecutor, or would one of us volunteer?"

"Likewise, I see no reason that Herr Mercer shouldn't be on the tribunal. Michael should be disallowed, because he is already part of this interrogation."

[Andrew Murphy]

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Since it requires us to expose anyone in the proceedings to our secret, a tribunal should suffice. Do we want to bring in an outside proscecutor, or would one of us volunteer?"

"Likewise, I see no reason that Herr Mercer shouldn't be on the tribunal. Michael should be disallowed, because he is already part of this interrogation."

"The members of the court need not know everything. We can try her on her possession and mind wiping of Joani alone. Those deeds are tantamount to kidnapping and repeated rape. Addionally she has co-opted yet another person whom she is, slowly but surely, killing. That alone is essentially premeditated murder."

Andrew sighs and sits down, he doesn't look very good at the moment, "And if we do feel the need to inform two more poeple of the greater issues at hand, well so be it. I feel that Max is a fine choice and I am conifdent he can find two more well adjusted people to serve in this capacity."

[Ulric Reikspar]

Quote:

"I agree that true imprisonment is not going to function, her punishment will be death, one way or another. The only other possibility is acquittal and freedom."

"That's a good argument. If I have the chance, I think I will use it. The problem here is that morality isn't black and white. It's pretty damn grey when it comes to matters of survival, and we often default to not actively killing, even if that means we passively kill."

Quote:

Andrew too looks sad, "If we are to create a society capable of sustainable self governance we must at some point step back and let the people rule themselves. And if we must cheat, if we must stack the trial against the guilty, I say that the society and the system do not work and all our work, every deed we have done for the past ten years, has be wasted and worthless."

"I whole-heartedly agree. I was hoping we would have laws for Specials in place by then. You do know we are at the crux of what led to the Aberrant Wars - what are novas allowed to do in the advancement of their own selves? Having no governance for themselves, they become self-governing."

"We get around these by creating understood laws about what Specials can't do - primarily that their rights end at the start of another's life, Special or not."

"This is still uncharted territory and hasn't been thuroughly explored. For instance, much of what you hold against her - actions, not intentions - Cody is guilty of. We found her by violating other people's psyches. Why is she wrong and we are right?"

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew nods sadly, "I know," he says quietly, "We are all damned, as soon as we turned aside communism and the rise of Nazism we had already perpretrated acts which are, at best, reprehensible, at worst we are no better than this woman.

"Not a day goes by when I don't wish that I had spoken against those ideas from the start. It is too late now to go back and change those actions. And so I do what I can to make things better, as atonement, and as a service to humanity."

Andrew looks up at Ulric, "Sadly Cody, Omar, Steve and I no longer have the moral high ground. Our actions, while for the greater good, are only acceptable because we are the ones who are making policy.

"Had she succeeded and put us on trial the Sphynx would surely have been able to send us to our deaths with her own kangaroo court. Our deeds must speak for themselves. I can only hope that one day an ethical and moral man will see that our actions were justified regardless of the outcome. More likely we are no better than the Sphynx however. It is only our paradigm that allows us to justify the actions we have taken."

[Courier]

Steve says gently to Andrew,

"At this stage in building a society, we're very lucky to have any sort of trial at all. Societies don't start with courts, they start with survival."

[Ulric Reikspar]

Originally Posted By: Courier

Steve says gently to Andrew,

"At this stage in building a society, we're very lucky to have any sort of trial at all. Societies don't start with courts, they start with survival."

Ulric can only nodded to Steve's comment then walks over to Andrew and offers to shake his hand.

"You are a fool," he says with a strong voice. "A gloriously misguided fool."

After they shake hands (?), Ulric takes a half step back.
"I've killed people. Probably more people than anyone in this room. Hundreds. I was in the Great War and I killed for all kinds of reasons, but mostly to survive."
"Since I've been a part of this group, I have been able to save Millions. If you hadn't taken out Hitler before I arrived, I would have shot him myself for what he would have done - to the world. It is a price I am willing to pay for the salvation of the Human Race."

"On the other hand, I have learned to believe and trust in a fair and just society. You and your Komraden have given me that. That is why I can defend her, even though I understand the cost of such a victory. By putting our faith in a tribunal, the cost of us losing is worse. She is but one person, but represents a whole class of persons we must learn to face."

"If you were less of a decent person, I would hate you."

[SkyLion]

Originally Posted By: Andrew Murphy

Originally Posted By: Ulric Reikspar

"Since it requires us to expose anyone in the proceedings to our secret, a tribunal should suffice. Do we want to bring in an outside proscecutor, or would one of us volunteer?"

"Likewise, I see no reason that Herr Mercer shouldn't be on the tribunal. Michael should be disallowed, because he is already part of this interrogation."

"The members of the court need not know everything. We can try her on her possession and mind wiping of Joani alone. Those deeds are tantamount to kidnapping and repeated rape. Addionally she has co-opted yet another person whom she is, slowly but surely, killing. That alone is essentially premeditated murder."

Andrew sighs and sits down, he doesn't look very good at the moment, "And if we do feel the need to inform two more poeple of the greater issues at hand, well so be it. I feel that Max is a fine choice and I am conifdent he can find two more well adjusted people to serve in this capacity."

Those standing near Cody hear him sigh. His vocal cords no longer vibrate but his breath is sufficent to tell.

*Andrew...*

He shakes his head.

*I can appreciate where you are coming from. But I don't think any of this debate is necessary. Anyone we bring in will NOT be aware of the toal facts.*

*A trial as I know it from the U.S. is for people presumed innocent until proven guilty. We need no proof of that. She is guilty. We know this. She will not be aquitted, nor set free under such capital crimes. The only matter at hand is sentancing. We have already agreed that there is but one option.*

*Your efforts at maintaining your human morality are noble, but you of all people should understnad the nature of the transhuman condition. In fact, I would say you and our parasite are the only true post-humans here, based on your unique physiologies.*

*You are correct that a trial would be a kangaroo court. She is a liar, a threat on a global scale, and if set free will not only ruin all of the good work we have done but perhaps take this world in a turn for the worse that we have never even imagined. She has the potential to be far worse than a Hitler, or even a Divis Mal if left unchecked.*

*In light of the evidence that we know to be true, and the best options so far presented, I motion for summary execution by telepathic seperation from the host and disintegration of her quantum pattern*

He looks again at Andrew, his silver eyes reflecting the agony of the others, but showing no emotion in themselves.

[Mr Fox]

Michael responds to Andrew, "You are right if she were in charge, no doubt she would have us executed by a kangroo court. However, I would say that the very fact that we are having this debate puts your group on a higher moral ground than she. Also, I tend to judge by actions and results rather than feelings." Looking to Lorean he says, "Please turn off Max's communications for a moment as I do not want to be influencing a potential judge before a case is heard."

He waits for her nod before continuing, "The facts are that she is a serial killer with no remorse and has caused the deaths of a number of others and we do not even know how many, she is currently in the process of killing another, again with no remorse. She basically raped Ms Walters for more than a year, not only with no remorse, but intending to continue doing so in the future. She has stated that she wishes to control at least a portion of the world if not the whole thing. These are her actions."

Your actions as I see them, "You have already prevented the largest economic disaster the world had ever known or would have. You have prevented at least one war if not several which would have caused hundreds of thousands of dead, innocent as well as soldiers. You prevented the dictatorship that would have seen political purges that would have killed millions. You have brought up the standard of living over the entire world, something no other group has ever done in any of the timelines you visited to my knowledge, and you've done all of this in just over a decade. This is not to mention other of your goals currently being pursued like eliminated racial bigotry and religious hatred."

He takes just a moment before finishing, "To me it is quite clear where you are very much different from this woman. Yes, you have done things that are questionable in the pursuit of this, but in the real world such decisions must sometimes be made. Was it right for America's founding fathers to rebel against their lawful ruler? Nearly half of their peers did not believe so at the time, and yet they are revered as great men who acted in ways that were not 'comfortable' in pursuit of a greater good."

[Ulric Reikspar]

Ulric is in total agreement with Michael.

"The end does not justify the means, but when working toward a just and moral end, you should take what means you are willing to consider into account."

[Joani]

"I second that" added Joani staying closely to the President but looking insecure to the floor.

[Andrew Murphy]

Andrew sighs, "I cannot believe we are even having this discussion." He allows Ulric to shake his hand though clearly he is still in conflict.

Originally Posted By: Cody

*Your efforts at maintaining your human morality are noble, but you of all people should understand the nature of the transhuman condition. In fact, I would say you and our parasite are the only true post-humans here, based on your unique physiologies.*

"And yet I retain my human perspective, not because I feel the need to but because I choose to. To do otherwise would be to embrace many of the tennants of teras from your timeline."

Originally Posted By: Cody

*In light of the evidence that we know to be true, and the best options so far presented, I motion for summary execution by telepathic seperation from the host and disintegration of her quantum pattern*

"And you would become as much a monster as she. In my United States even if the evidence was overwhelming a defendant was still given a trial, a chance to state their case and perhaps show that the evidence was wrong or misleading. Are we so flawless that we now no longer require a trial? I think not."

Andrew listens to Michael, "History is written by the victors, had Washington and the other lost they would no doubt be looked upon with contempt and scorn. Yes we have done some great things, but have done terrible things as well. Washington freed his country and it's people from tyranny and yet he himself owned slaves. Is slavery not a form of tyranny?"

Andrew slumps and puts his head in his hands, "You will all do waht you feel is right of course, and I as the lone dissenter will likely be overruled should we all vote on this, but I would be remiss had I not spoken my mind this time. I will not stand by without at least trying to do ... something."

[Mr Fox]

Quote:

Yes we have done some great things, but have done terrible things as well. Washington freed his country and it's people from tyranny and yet he himself owned slaves. Is slavery not a form of tyranny?"

Michael smiles at Andrew, "Does this not make you feel better about yourself. Washington was one of the greatest men that ever lived in America, and even he was flawed. Do you expect that you are better than Washington, you are certainly holding yourself to a higher standard than you hold for him. Just for the record, what made him truly great was not that he ruled, but that he proved he believed in what they had fought for, and gave up power when the time came to do so. Another thing you have in common."

[SkyLion]

Quote:

"And you would become as much a monster as she. In my United States even if the evidence was overwhelming a defendant was still given a trial, a chance to state their case and perhaps show that the evidence was wrong or misleading. Are we so flawless that we now no longer require a trial? I think not."

*Andrew, the courts you know did not have the ability to detect with 100% certainty whether or not the defendant was lying. The evidence we have against this creature comes from it's own mind, and it's own words. The evidence we have is not false, nor misleading. It is overwhelmingly against "her."*

*We are not flawless, however the case against her is. She has already freely admitted the guilt of her intentions to world power. We have done what we have done, fought Naziism and Communism so that this world might remain free of tyrants.*

*At some point we will leave this timeline. I hope that when we return we will find it idyllic and self governing, but make no mistake that our shaping of this world has always been a temporary gambit. I for one feel the need to seek out greater mysteries.*

*I should add that I do not consider myself a monster but a man with a moral conscience asked to make a hard decision. If you are so willing to martyr our cause to this creature, I suggest we allow her to posses your body for a time. Perhaps then the nature and monstrosity of the situation will be more clear to you...*

[Ulric Reikspar]

Ulric reaches out and takes Joani's hand in his own. He remembered what it was like to stand in such exalted company, with the fate of lives and nations in the balance and to be so unsure of who you were to be here amongst greatness.

To her, he whispers,

"The sun will rise tomorrow. The world still turns. We do what we can in the time alotted and may we do memorable deeds to inspire those who will come after us."

To Andrew,

"Your plea does not fall on deaf ears. I see our sense of justice balanced on a knife's edge against what we need to see happen. What also matters to me in this question is the viewpoint of my trusted peers - the people I work with. I do not rely on self-council alone, but in what the combined minds here have to say."

[Andrew Murphy]

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

... Do you expect that you are better than Washington; you are certainly holding yourself to a higher standard than you hold for him. Just for the record, what made him truly great was not that he ruled, but that he proved he believed in what they had fought for, and gave up power when the time came to do so. Another thing you have in common."

Andrew peels back the skin on one arm showing the formless, jelly-like interior. "Yes, I do intend to hold myself to higher moral standards than Washington. I am both more ... and less ... than human. I can become anything; I can experience what it is to be man or woman, insect, animal, plant or inanimate object. I understand what it is to be a predator, a being that hunts other living creatures for its basest survival. And yet despite all this I still hold myself, and my associates, to the highest moral standard."

Andrew hangs his head once more and listens to Cody "speak". Finally he just shakes his head, "I do not condone what she has done, I do not argue her guilt or innocence. I only request that we do not allow ourselves to fail as we did before.

"We try her, in a court of her peers, her fellow novas; we lay the evidence out and let her peers decide her fate. All I'm asking is that you step back. You have gathered your evidence, you have acquired the proof you sought. Now use that to convince three, or five, whatever, other novas that she is guilty of crimes warranting death.

"I am not suggesting we go to the first circuit court of New York and try her as baseline, I am asking that we accept to put her fate in the hands of the people that we are trying to lead to a better future. If you … if we cannot convince three other novas that her actions violated moral and ethical standards, that a punishment of death is warranted, then perhaps our evidence is not strong enough.“

[Courier]

Steve represses a smile that Cody picks up. He raises an eyebrow that Cody easily interprets to mean "bad cop". Steve says,

"I think what we need to do is give her a fair trial, and then excute her. That the verdict is not in question doesn't make it unfair. We aren't mentally messing with Max to ensure the correct verdict, the evidence will do that. It's unfortunate that we don't have a more formal process, but we're doing the best we can with what we have, and that will have to do."

Steve slaps his hands together,

"Speaking of beating people up and kidnapting them, we still have some work to do. Harold is still out there, and we've been given a detailed plan on how to pick him up. We also have a list of people to deprogram before they explode."

"I suggest a direct approach. We know where he lives. We'll monitor it and teleport in when he's there. Ideally we should do this before the trial starts, if he gets away we'll need to ask her where he'd go."

[SkyLion]

Quote:

"I suggest a direct approach. We know where he lives. We'll monitor it and teleport in when he's there. Ideally we should do this before the trial starts, if he gets away we'll need to ask her where he'd go."

*Id suggest using Morgan or my Cruiser to Warp to him. Lorean needs to save her strength. Shall we have Max pick our jury of peers?*

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: *Overload*

*Id suggest using Morgan or my Cruiser to Warp to him. Lorean needs to save her strength. Shall we have Max pick our jury of peers?*

Steve says,

"Agreed, and Agreed. Considering he's a psiad he should be physically weak, but mentally strong. Let's take some in the car and hold Morgan in reserve. So who wants to come?"